Rope-spinning hoop



Sqbt. 15 1970 I Q L 3,528,194

ROPE-SPINNING HOOP Filed Sept. 16, 1969 INVENTOR. EUGENE MOTLUK United States Patent O 3,528,194 ROPE-SPINNING HOOP Eugene Motluk, 60 Halliwell Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Filed Sept. 16, 1969, Ser. No. 858,354 Int. Cl. A63h N17 US. C]. 46-51 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An article of amusement comprising a rigid hoop preferably made of plastic or other light weight material to which is fastened a cord of suflicient length to enable a person to hold onto one end and twirl the hoop. The cord is attached to the hoop in a manner such that the hoop can revolve on an axis tangential to the hoop at the locus of attachment, but the hoop cannot move circumferentially relatively to the cord at the locus of attachment. A handle is provided at the end of the cord which enables the hoop to be twirled without twisting the rope.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Rope-spinning hoops in the prior art are known but have one or more of the following disadvantages: They involve the use of relatively expensive swivel joints which may allow the loop to swivel without twisting the rope, but they do not permit the loop to turn on the hoop so that the individual twirling the hoop can leap through the hoop as it is moved from side to side of the individual thereby limiting the usefulness and the pleasure derived therefrom.

The Krueger Pat. No. 3,260,014 and German Pat. No. 1,119,735 are examples of such prior art devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a toy or exercising device composed of a relatively rigid hoop to which is loosely fastened an elongated flexible member by means of which the hoop can be twirled. The flexible member is attached to the hoop in such manner that the flexible member can be turned about an axis tangential to the periphery of the hoop at the locus of attachment. The free end of the elongated member is mounted in an elongated handle having a passageway therethrough which gradually widens in a direction toward the end of the member attached to the hoop. This permits an individual to grasp the handle and twirl the hoop without causing the flexible member to twist. The flexible member is free to rotate in the handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective View of the article forming the subject matter of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective detail of a portion of the article shown in FIG. 1 to show the manner in which the flexible member is attached to the hoop.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view with a portion broken away to show the structure of a handle attached to the free end of the elongated flexible member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates a rigid hoop which may be made out of any relatively light material such as plastic, wood or metal. Any relatively inexpensive plastic material such as polyethylene may be used. I prefer to use a plastic material, since the hoop can be cheaply molded therefrom. A flexible member 3 ice is loosely fastened to the hoop by means of a loop 5. The flexible member 3 may be any suitable rope or cord made of natural or synthetic fiber or elastomer material. While an ordinary cord or rope may be used, I prefer to use a material such as nylon (a long chain synthetic polymeric amide) or Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), or other. plastic material which has inherent lubricity. The end 5 of the flexible element 3 is fastened to the hoop by looping the end of the element around the hoop and stapling the end to the portion of the rope by means of staple 7. The loop 5 is prevented from sliding along the hoop by straddling the loop with a staple 9 driven into the hoop. More than one staple may be used to retain the loop in place on the hoop, but they should be located in such position as to allow the loop to rotate on the hoop to an extent such that the rope, when outstretched, will be at an angle of about -120 with respect to the plane of the hoop, thereby assisting a child in properly spinning the hoop. However, by using a single staple placed correctly, it is possible to twirl the hoop in a vertical plane and at the same time move the hoop from one side to the other of the individual as the individual leaps through the hoop, without binding the loop 5 so that it will not turn freely on the hoop during this exercise. Thus, if the staple is driven into the outer perimeter of the hoop, it will not interfere with either the horizontal twirling of the hoop or the use of the hoop in a vertical position when shifted from side to side as the individual leaps through the hoop.

Instead of using a staple 9 to prevent the rope from sliding along the hoop, the hoop can be cast or formed or molded with two annular collars 11 with suflicient space therebetween to enable the end of the rope or flexible member 3 to be looped around the hoop and fastened. This construction, as shown in FIG. 3, enables the rope to freely turn through 360 around the hoop.

On the other end of the flexible member 3 is mounted a handle 13 which may be formed of plastic, metal, wood or other suitable material. The handle 13 is of sufficient length to enable it to be grasped by the hand. The handle 13 has a central bore 15 extending from the end 17 and gradually enlarging toward the end 19. The flexible memher 3 can rotate freely within the central bore 15. The handle 13 is prevented from slipping off the member 3 by means of a washer 21 which may be clamped onto the end of the member 3. Obviously, the member 3 can be simply knotted on the end to prevent the handle from slipping off. I prefer to make the handle of plastic material, and if the flexible member 3 is not made of a substance which has natural lubricity, the handle 13 can be made of nylon, Teflon or other material having inherent lubricity. By forming the handle with the flared or belled end, the hoop can be twirled without twisting the element The subject matter of this invention is useful as a toy or as an exercising device, and is used in much the same manner as a lariat or lasso. With a little practice, an individual can graps the handle 13 and twirl the hoop either in a revolving motion about himself or rotate it about the pivot formed by the end loop 5 and the hoop. The hoop can be caused to spin in any plane from horizontal to vertical in any position alongside, above or beneath the individual operating it. The individual can jump in and out of the spinning hoop as it is spun in a horizontal plane or he can jump through the hoop as it is spun and pulled from side to side in a vertical plane.

If desired, the flexible member 3 may be made of an elastic member which is capable of stretching or being deformed lengthwise and recovering. Elastic threads may be woven together to form a suitable elastic cord using natural rubber, neoprene, 'butyl rubber, nitrile rubber, or

3 other synthetic elastomers. By using an elastic member, a snap action can be obtained in pulling the hoop from side to side as the individual leaps therethrough. If an elastic member is used made of elastomer threads, the threads can be covered with nylon fiber in order to obtain the added advantage of natural lubricity.

It will be apparent that the size of the hoop and the length of the flexible member will be such as to accommodate the si'ze of the individual for which it is intended. For example, if the article is to be used by a small child, the hoop may have a diameter of approximately 30 inches and the flexible member may have a length of approximately 3 to 4 feet. For an adult, a suitable size hoop may be one of approximately 4 to 5 feet in diameter with a flexible member of the length of approximately 5 to 8 feet. The handle 13 may be fastened to the end of the flexible member 3 in such manner that it can be used to lengthen or shorten the efiective length of the member 3, depending on the size of the individual who is using the article.

The narrowest diameter of the bore 15 is sufliiciently greater than the diameter of the flexible element 3 to enable the latter to turn freely in the bore. For example, the narrowest diameter of the bore may be from to A inch greater than that of the element 3. The other end of the bore 15 is preferably at least twice the diameter of the member 3. The inner surface of the end 19 is curved or rounded so as not to present a sharp end against which the member 3 can rub. By so doing the life of the member 3 is prolonged.

I claim:

1. A rope-spinning hoop comprising:

(a) A substantially rigid hoop,

(b) An elongated flexible member attached to said hoop by a closed loop at one end of said member, through which said hoop passes,

(c) Said loop being sufficiently large to allow said hoop to freely rotate about a transverse axis of said loop without distorting said flexible member adjacent said loop,

(d) Means to prevent said loop from sliding around the perimeter of said hoop, and

(e) Means mounted on said member to enable the other end thereof to be firmly held and permit the flexible member to rotate while twirling said hoop.

2. A rope-spinning hoop in accordance with claim 1 in which:

(d) said means mounted on said member is an elongated handle having a central bore which tapers out- Wardly,

(c) said flexible member passes loosely through said bore,

(f) means is provided for preventing said handle from slipping oflf of the other end of said member, and

(g) the central bore tapers outwardly toward the end of the handle remote from said other end of said member.

3. A rope-spinning hoop in accordance with claim 1 in which said means to prevent said loop from sliding around the perimeter of said hoop is a staple straddling said loop and fastened to said hoop.

4. A rope-spinning hoop in accordance with claim 2 in which said means to prevent said loop from sliding around the perimeter of said hoop is a staple straddling said loop and fastened to said hoop.

5. A rope-spinning hoop in accordance with claim 1 in which said means to prevent said loop from sliding around the perimeter of said hoop are spaced annular collars, one on either side of said loop, said collars being adjacent to said loop but spaced apart sufiiciently to allow said hoop to rotate freely in said loop.

ROBERT PESHOCK, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

